Roommates
by iusemyimagination
Summary: Troy is bad boy Mr. Popular. Gabriella is a beautiful, smart & athletic nobody who deserves more credit than she's given. When she moves in with the Boltons, will her kind heart change Troy into a decent person? Can his love for her change his bad habits?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Mom, I don't want to go to school today," Gabriella complained. She came downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed an apple.

"Why don't you just go and see how it goes. If you don't feel well, you can come home," her mom replied.

The reason why Gabriella felt sick wasn't because of the flu. Mr. Montez, Gabriella's dad, passed away Friday night. If that wasn't burdensome enough, Gabriella's mother does not work. She was a house-mom and her dad always brought in the money. Without him, they had to sell their home, their cars, everything.

As Gabriella was driving to school, she couldn't help but worry about what would happen to her and her mom.

**At School**

"Troy, you missed the party after the game Friday night! I missed you, where were you?" Amy, the head cheerleader, said. This was not unusual for Gabriella to hear. All of the pretty girls were always at Troy's locker, either waiting for him, making out with him, flirting with him, and much creepier stuff, too. Troy and Gabriella have had their lockers next to each other since freshman year. Even more so, they have been next door neighbors before they were born. It wouldn't seem so, but the Bolton and Montez family were almost one kin, except for the fact that Troy and Gabriella have never spoken a word to each other. Their excuse was that they were just both too different.

Troy is the captain of the basketball team; Gabriella is the captain of the academic decathlon team.

Troy has a new girl to hook up with every night; Gabriella has never had a boyfriend before.

Troy is the most popular guy in the school; Gabriella is only known by her two best friends.

Troy is a bad boy, he's the life of the party; Gabriella likes to volunteer and go to church.

It is almost certain that Troy barely knows her name.

"Sorry Amy, some family stuff came up," Troy replied to Amy. That was kind of a white lie. Troy was at the hospital when Mrs. Montez called the Bolton household when her husband was hospitalized. Troy read the text his mom sent him after his game and he left the school without any hesitation to visit Mr. Montez. Without waiting for Amy's reply, he looked at Gabriella with some sort of sorry look, and left. And that look he gave was enough to crush whatever debris was left of her heart.

**Montez House**

"I just don't know how we're going to make it," Maria, Gabriella's mother, said. "He didn't have life insurance, his funeral is costing us our entire savings, Gabriella needs to go to college after this year, and I have to start looking for a job and a new home. This situation's impossible!" Maria was crying as she buried her head into her hands.

"Well let's not jump to conclusions yet. You have options. First off, Gabriella is a smart, smart girl. I can guarantee that scholarship programs will be harassing her soon, so do not worry about funding her college tuition. Second of all, you have a teaching credential! I know that Oak Hills Elementary School is hiring teachers for the next school year, so call them today and see if there's any way you can get a job there. As for your living situation, until you find a part-time or full-time job, our home is available to you guys-"

"Are you crazy? We can't live in your house, that's your home!"

"We have a five bedroom house. Two rooms are open. Jack and I discussed this over the weekend and we would feel discouraged if you do not accept the favor."

"I don't know Martha… that sounds like a bit too much, and I should ask Gabi about this…"

"It's not like you are moving out of state! You're moving a few feet to the right, Gabriella will have her own room, I promise you she'll love the idea that you will not be struggling financially!"

"Is there anything I can do for you? This is an incredible gift that I would not be able to afford to return to you at this moment but I promise as soon as- "

"No. This is me being a good friend to you after all that you have done for me. You saved my marriage, Maria. You talked me out of divorce with Jack. You raised Troy as your own son. Living in my house is not a burden, but it's a gift to me as well."

"Thank you, Martha. Just… thank you."

"Mom?" Gabriella yelled.

"In the kitchen!" she yelled back wiping away her tears.

"Hey, Mrs. Bolton! Hey, Mom. Sorry I couldn't stand it after 1st period, I had to come home."

"Oh that's alright, Gabs! Well, I have news for you."

"No news could be worse than Friday night, what's going on?" Gabriella monotonously replied.

" Gabs, we have to move. We can't afford this house without your dad's income." Maria said uneasily.

Gabriella's face fell even more. "Oh… yeah… well of course, Mom. I should have seen that coming. Whatever is convenient for you, I'll have to accommodate, I guess."

"Well accommodate to this: We're moving next door!" she exclaimed.

"To Jane and Jim's? But Mom, they're grandparents. That's weird!"

"The other neighbors, Gabi. The Boltons!" Gabriella's eyes widened. She looked at her mom, then at Martha.

"W-wh-what? How is that possible?" She stuttered.

"We have two open rooms. You will have your own room, but you will share a bathroom with my son, but other than that, it won't be much different than your home!" Martha exclaimed.

The first thought in Gabriella's mind was not the fact that she has to move out. It was the fact that she is living with Troy Bolton. THE Troy Bolton. She wondered if he knew about his new living situation.

A/N: So if you read this, thank you for reading and please review so I have an idea of how many people are reading! PLEASE give me constructive criticism or any ideas you want. I have most of the story mapped out, but I could always add a few details in here and there. Thanks for reading. I know this chapter is lacking a lot of detail and super boring, but I have a lot in store for this story. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Things were beginning to settle in for Gabriella. Since she came home from school early, she began to pack their rooms immediately to move into the Bolton's home. They left the furniture there because Maria hadn't contacted a realtor yet to put the house up for sale, plus, there was no need for it all.

Around five o'clock, Gabriella had transitioned everything she needed from her room into her new room, the room attached to Troy Bolton's room by the same bathroom.

Troy walked into his house shirtless, dripping sweat from his basketball practice. He noticed that there was a different essence in his home, but he made nothing of it. He went into his room, noticing a couple of boxes upstairs, but he just assumed his mom was packing up old toys and books to donate, like she usually does.

He entered his room, took off his shorts and headed straight for the shower, realizing that there was someone in HIS bathroom. Gabriella was washing her hands, and she looked up with an embarrassed face to see the most popular guy at East High in the same bathroom as her, covering himself only with briefs. After an awkward, uncomfortable silence, Gabriella began to speak.

"I- I… I'm…s-sorry?" She didn't know what to say. For her, it was like dying and going to heaven and being judged in front of God for all of the sins she committed. Before she could continue, his face turned bright red as he slammed the door shut behind him and went to his room. Seconds later, she heard him stomping down the stairs. It was a little obvious that he was mad.

"Will someone explain to me what on earth is going on here?" he yelled as his words echoed through the house. Gabriella was listening from her room.

"Troy, I-" Martha began to speak.

"Did you think about asking me? Did you ever think, 'Hey, I should let my son know that a random girl is going to be living with us and sharing his bathroom!' Did anyone think about me?"

"TROY ALEXANDER BOLTON!" Jack yelled in his basketball coach voice. "You are a minor in this household. You do not make decisions on who lives here. And until you can afford this house on your own, that choice is up to your mother and me!"

"Dad that's not even fair! Make her stay in another room, I need my privacy!"

"Honey," Martha joined in. She sympathetically rested her hand on his shoulder. "Her father just passed away; let's give her some encouragement at this time. And it's not like you guys are even sharing the same room. This should not be a problem."

"Mom, what if I have girls over and she has her bathroom door open?"

"Oh, that's disgusting, Troy! End of discussion!" Jack said.

"No, Dad-"

"THAT'S IT. You are NOT starting this Friday night's game!" His coach yelled. "You complain about this one more time and I can promise you that you'll be the benchwarmer for the rest the play-off season." When Gabriella heard this, her stomach dropped.

"Dad, we're not going to make it past a single round of a play-off game without me! Discipline me in some other way; don't take it out on the team!" Troy whined.

"Tough luck. You can explain to your teammates why you have such terrible manners." With this, Troy threw his hands up out of frustration and left the conversation at that.

Gabriella felt so responsible for Troy and his dad's argument. Whenever she's upset or going through a hard time, she always reads her Bible or prays, so she flipped through a random scripture in the Bible. She turned to the book of Hebrews. "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons." She smiled to herself, as if God knew. She wished Troy would see this bible verse.

By seven o'clock, she was finished unpacking. Her bed was made, picture frames were up, her Macbook was on her desk, books and old notebooks were neatly placed in her bookshelf, and her closet was stocked with her clothes. She could hear Troy talking to Chad, complaining how some weird girl was living at his house. He probably didn't even know her name.

"Hang on…" Troy said. "Ugh, Amy's calling… yeah _that _one…. She won't leave me alone! … Alright dude, see you." _Click. "_Hey Amy… oh nothing, just working out, what are you up to… tomorrow night?... yeah sounds good, let's do my place, my parents will be out tomorrow night for a business dinner… perfect sweetheart, see you tomorrow."

Did Troy Bolton really tell his best friend that he's annoyed with Amy? Then did he just call her sweetheart and make plans for tomorrow night? And did he remember that Gabriella will be at his house tomorrow? Boys are so inconsiderate.

**Text message to Taylor:**

**Tay-**

**Moved in with Troy's family. Pretty awkward I must say. I'll text you details tonight.**

"Dinner's ready, everyone!" Martha said through the house intercom.

Gabriella respectfully went to the dining room immediately. Troy, however, had everyone waiting on him for ten minutes.

"Great for you to join us, son. Thank you for being so considerate of everyone else," Jack said sarcastically.

"Dad, I have girls to talk to."

"Let's eat, everyone." Martha said. "I made chicken enchiladas with my special sauce and fried rice and black beans. There's so much more in the kitchen, I encourage you to get seconds! I know my boys always do!"

"Thank you for having us," Maria said. "Gabriella and I are forever grateful."

Everyone was eating, except Gabriella. She never ate a meal without praying beforehand. She didn't want to disrespect God, but she didn't want to make everyone else feel uncomfortable. Though she always had issues with her insecurities, she never cared about what others thought of her, so she folded her hands on her lap, slightly bowed her head down closing her eyes, and whispered her prayer. She opened her eyes to see Troy sitting across her, giving her the weirdest look she had ever received. She brushed it off.

"So Troy," Jack said to break the silence. "Do you have any classes with Gabriella?" Troy didn't even look up.

"Nope." He said bluntly as he continued to stuff his face with food. That was a lie. He had all five classes with her. It was either that he was embarrassed, or he never took the time of day to notice her. It was probably the second one.

"Gabriella, I've heard so many great things about you through the local newspaper!" Martha exclaimed. "Oh Maria, you must be so proud of her! She's smart, she's talented, she's athletic, and she's so beautiful!" Gabriella blushed, not knowing how to reply.

"Martha, you got lucky with Troy as well! He is always on the front page on the paper, every time I go onto East High's campus, there are posters of him plastered everywhere!"

"Well unfortunately, basketball's the only thing he's good at. Gabriella is a track star! And she's ranked number one in her class!" Jack said. Yes, this was all true. Gabriella ran for East High's cross-country team this past season, being the top girl on her school's varsity team and the top three in her league. She mostly runs the 400 meter dash and 300 meter hurdles during the spring season for track. She always made it to state finals, and last year she placed fourth out of sixty girls in her division. This year, she was expected to come in first. "So I'm thinking of putting Troy in for track after basketball season's finished with. Once playoffs are over in February, all the boys do is mess around and eat junk food. I want him to stay in shape, what's your opinion, Gabriella?"

Gabriella suddenly got dragged into this conversation. "Oh, uh, I don't know. I'm not the best person to ask, Mr. Bolton."

"Please, call me Jack." he said, giving Gabriella a sincere smile.

"Well, East High's track team is extremely competitive, but we just don't get recognized as much because most people don't come to our track meets. Basketball and football games are much more entertaining to watch, so if your team is full of people who work well under a lot of adrenaline and attention, I don't know if track would be weird for them." Gabriella said.

Troy put his fork down. "Dad, who said I'm trying out for track?"

"Your coach did. And so did your father. Do you know how fast Gabriella is? Son, with her times, I'm sure she could easily beat you in a race."

"Oh no, Mr. Bolton, I wouldn't compare myself to him like that," Gabriella said.

"No, no, please. This boy here needs someone to humble him out. Gabriella, if I could somehow promise you that your cross country and track team will receive more recognition, would you train Troy for track season?" Gabriella looked at Troy. He was looking down with a facial expression of both anger and humiliation. To think of it, the track team worked so hard every single day for no recognition at all. They win league championships and only get a banner up on the gym's wall.

"You could _promise_?" she asked. Jack held out his pinky. Troy rolled his eyes.

"I can _pinky promise._" She accepted as she linked her finger to his. "Now don't go telling your friends that Coach does girly little pinky promises!"

Gabriella laughed. "I won't, don't worry, Mr. Bolt-… Jack." She smiled. Gabriella was very pleased with dinner and the way things turned out. Troy's rude attitude was a different story, but she prayed that he would stop being so prideful.

The five of them finished dinner around 8:30 and Gabriella was washing the dishes when Martha came in.

"What are you doing, sweetheart? No, no, we let Troy wash the dishes after dinner! That boy learned _some_ manners!" Martha said.

"Hahaha, don't worry about it Mrs. Bolton, I always did the dishes, so this isn't burdensome whatsoever. I'm pretty sure Mr. Superstar has tons to do already."

"Bless your heart, Gabriella. But starting tomorrow, Troy gets the dishes, understand?" She said sternly, but in a joking matter. Gabriella nodded. Martha went to put away the leftovers that Gabriella put in Tupperware.

"Mrs. Bolton-"

"Oh Mrs. Bolton sounds so old! It's Martha," she said.

"Okay, um, Martha, I heard what Troy said downstairs. I feel so terrible. Do you think there's anything I can say for your husband to change his mind?"

"Oh Gabriella, there's nothing you can do. That man is as stubborn as a mountain. No one could change his mind." Gabriella was disappointed. She truly wanted to help him, considering the fact that Troy had to share his bathroom with a girl. Not that Gabriella was one of those superficial girls who take an hour to get ready, but still.

"Okay, well I'm all done here, so I think I'm going to get ready for bed now. Thank you, Martha, for everything."

"Gabriella, thank _you_. I know deep in my heart that you're going to change Troy into a better man." Gabriella smiled. "Oh and one more thing… tomorrow, would you mind praying before our dinner?" Martha smiled at her as Gabriella nodded with the biggest grin on her face.

Gabriella went upstairs to see seven text messages from Taylor.

**Text Message #1**

**YOU MOVED INTO WHO'S HOUSE?**

**Text Message #2**

**Troy Bolton? Are you living with him?**

**Text Message #3**

**Do you know what he's doing right now? Update me!**

**Text Message #4**

**Are you alive? Oh no, you're not doing what I think you're doing...**

**Text Message #5**

**OMG Gabs you're totally in his room making out with him!**

**Text Message #6**

**Can't believe it. I'm totally jealous. **

**Text Message #7**

**Gabs, call me asap. I think I'm dying...**

Gabriella decided to torture Taylor until tomorrow. She changed into spandex shorts and a sweatshirt, put her running shoes on, headphones in, and went downstairs. Every night, she always went for an hour run to stay in shape in the off-season. The first set of try-outs started this week, but her Coach said that she doesn't need to try-out, she just needs to run on her own this week. She went into the kitchen to drink some water before she left, but she saw Troy leaning on the refridgerator eating cereal.

_'Didn't we just have dinner an hour ago?' _she thought.

"Sorry, I just need some water..." Gabriella managed to say. She wasn't afraid of him; she didn't like him either, although she did fnd him extremely attractive. She was just...intimidated.

Troy just looked at her with a mean look indicating that he didn't care.

"I know this might be uncomfortable for you, but as soon as my mom finds a job, we'll be out of here so-"

"Look, I get it. Your dad died in a car accident, you and your mom are homeless and my family took you in. But don't expect me to change my ways for you. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you. And do NOT expect me to be training with you. I'm East High's best athlete, I don't care how fast you can run 3 miles or even a lap, and just incase you didn't know, I'm popular, and you're not." Gabriella stepped backwards feeling intimidated. Of course she knew that. "We are not friends, and you living with me doesn't mean that we're gonna be. We're just roommates, okay?" Gabriella just stood there. "Got it?"

"I'm really sorry, Troy, I feel terrible. I can use the downstairs bathroom, we don't need to carpool for school, I'll stay out of your way." she spoke softly.

"Glad we're on the same page." And that was it. He put his bowl in the sink and left.

That was the first verbal interaction they had their entire lives. Unforunately, it wasn't pleasant, but at least memorable. Gabriella left for her run, as Troy went back to his room and locked the door that led Gabriella's room into the bathroom.

* * *

**A/N: First of all, thank you so much for your reviews! I know this chapter dragged on a LOT, but after this, it's going to get interesting. I know Gabriella isn't really a track star in the movie, but she isn't a Christian either, so I'm kind of changing things up for a reason, which leads to my second point. I'm really sorry if the Christianity thing is offending anyone. If it is, I'll stop, but I'm not going to use it TOO much. I just want the readers to know that she has faith in a higher power and she has reasons behind her morals, which you'll find out later. And third of all, I know it's so annoying when authors write this, but please review! It can be a simply letter, or a mark or whatever, I just want to have an idea of who's reading my story; it does not have to be a real comment... if that makes any sense. But I really hope you liked this chapter, I'll update a new chapter, possibly two, tomorrow :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Gabriella woke up around six in the morning and went to the bathroom, realizing that it was locked, but she didn't mind. She got ready for school, running back and forth up the stairs from her room to the bathroom. Eventually, she realized that Troy was coming in from a morning jog. It was 6:15. Either he went on a really short run, or he wakes up impossibly early.

They left for school at practically the same time in their own cars. Not that she wanted to ride with Troy, but she thought it would save a lot more gas money. Gabriella and Troy still didn't acknowledge each other's presence at school, and most of all no one knew that some random girl was living at Troy's house.

**East High School**

"YOU'VE BEEN DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Taylor squealed, startling Gabriella as she closed her locker.

"Sorry Taylor, lots happened last night,"

"More like lots happened YESTERDAY! Spill, we've got," Taylor looked down at her watch that was synchronized to the school, "two minutes and twenty-eight seconds!"

"Well, we're selling our house. Martha offered my mom and me to live at her house, I had dinner with Troy and his family, Troy yelled at me, I got him to lose his starting position for this week's game, my room is adjacent to his, and I went on an eight mile run last night." Gabriella said dully.

"You and Troy…_talked? _Someone tell me what kind of parallel universe I'm living in right now!"

"No, he mostly did the talking. I apologized and told him that I wouldn't use his bathroom,"

"Gabi, do you understand just how many people would kill somebody to be in your position right now? To even be considered to share Troy's bathroom?" But Gabriella didn't care. She just wished that Troy would treat her like a decent human being. The bell rang, and before Gabriella could answer, she went to homeroom.

As normal, she was sitting with Taylor in the back of the classroom. They observed all of the high school students as if they were some sort of zoo animals since there was never anything to do in that class. It was always fifty minutes spent socializing and pretending to watch EHT (East High Television), which was a poorly live broadcasted show by wannabe anchors at this school to announce pointless things. But Gabriella caught something in the corner of her eye… Troy. But not just him; he had a girl sitting on his desk, a girl that wasn't Amy. Nope, it was Paige. She wasn't a cheerleader like Amy, but she was the star volleyball player at East High. Not that our school had an excelling girl's volleyball program, but every boy drooled over the skinny girls with huge butts jumping and sliding around in their spankies and tight tank tops, which they seem to call their uniforms. Paige was just as popular as Amy. Any beautiful girl was popular at this school. Gabriella was considered attractive by most guys, but her introverted and reticent personality never motivated any boys to show interest in her. Plus, most of them were frightened by her SAT scores and high grade point average, but Gabriella didn't know that. She always assumed she wasn't popular because she was a plain, geeky and ugly girl.

"Gabriella Montez?" Mrs. Darbus said.

"Yes?" she replied with an anxious feeling that made her stomach drop. Last time her name was called, it lead her to bad news.

"There's a summons for you." And that was the reason why she was so nervous. Gabriella never received summons. Summons were always delivered to students who were in trouble, or in her case, it was for people who needed to go to the office to receive horrible news, like her father's death. She walked up cautiously, with sweaty hands and clenched fists, praying that it wasn't that her mom died, or anything relating to her family.

_**Gabriella Montez-**_

_**Please come to the track field at the beginning of 7th period to help with tryouts. 300 meter hurdlers are trying out today.**_

_**-Coach Williamson**_

She let out a huge sigh of relief. That was something that she could do, and she actually looked forward to it. Her academics became too easy for her, and running was always a challenge. And no one ever wanted to be a nerd like her, but on the track, so many people wished to be her, or at least have her speed and endurance. It made her feel recognized.

_**Text from Mom:**_

_**Gabs, I'm job hunting all of today. Won't be back until really late, and Troy's parents will not be home either. Order pizza, love you.**_

Suddenly, Gabriella got really nervous again.

_'Mom won't be home... Jack and Martha won't be home...but I will be, and so will Troy...and Amy. Perfect...' _she thought.

The rest of the day went normally. At lunch, Gabriella went to Taylor's house to eat. Gabriella had a free 6th period, which was right after lunch, so everyday was a two hour lunch break from 12:00- 2:00 p.m. Then, 7th period was when all of the sports teams practiced.

**Track Try-outs**

"Hey, Coach!" Gabriella said coming out in leggings and a hooded sweater, her dark, curly hair was flying everywhere. It was February, which meant that in Albequerque, it was between twenty to thirty degrees on a normal day with high winds. Gabriella was on the track before the others were there so she could already be warmed up. As she was doing warm up drills alone, she saw Amy walk out in pink sweatpants, a white EHS Cheerleading sweatshirt, and gloves. Above all, she had her cheerleading shoes on.

'_Just because there's a Nike check mark on it doesn't mean you run in them," _Gabriella thought.

"So Gabs," Williamson said, "there are eight girls and six boys trying out for the hurdles, and we're just going to see who's better for the 100s and who's better with the 300s."

"Sounds good, Coach," She nodded.

"Try to be _really_ patient with them. Half of them have never run before, and the other half are just horrible. Just between you and me, they already made the team, but only the top two or three get to race in a meet."

Gabriella laughed. "That sounds normal to me. Should we warm them up?"

"Good thinking," he said, "EVERYONE HERE FOR TRACK TRYOUTS, THREE LAPS, WARM IT UP. STRIDE IN THE LAST 100 METERS!"There were fourteen people running at all sorts of different paces. One guy thought it would be a smart idea to start off really fast to show off, but he ended up coming in behind most of the girls by the end of the warm up. Amy and her other cheerleading friend walked half of it, and a lot of them didn't understand what striding meant.

After that, everyone came to sit on the bleachers, Williamson introduced Gabriella and Chris, the best male hurdler, and explained to the hopeful runners the strictness of the track and field program.

"We're looking for a boy or a girl to beat Gabriella in the 300 hurdles," he said, smiling at her, "and if you can do that, you might be my new favorite person!" Chris was laughing also, knowing that Gabriella always beats him by less than half a second. Surprising to say, the hurdles was not her best event; she was even better in the 400.

At that point, there were a few stations set up, and Gabriella demonstrated techniques on training their hip flexors to get comfortable jumping the hurdle. Amy had absolutely no problem with this drill- she was a cheerleader, so of course she was flexible.

To demonstrate to the group just how fast they should be trying to run, Williamson set up 100 meters of hurdles for Gabriella and Chris to demonstrate.

"WAIT FOR THE WHISTLE!" he yelled from afar. Gabriella was in lane five and Chris was in lane two. They put their feet on the starting blocks and waited for the whistle.

When it blew, they bolted off, clearing the hurdles as if it was as easy as walking. Chris was in the lead half the way, like he normally is, but Gabriella caught up in the end, beating him by just a step.

"Chris, you're catching up! Gabriella, you better watch out!" Coach said. Gabriella looked up at him after catching her breath to see a group of tall, shirtless, attractive guys standing by the fence. They became more recognizable as her head stopped spinning- it was the infamous basketball team. Their jaws were dropped and eyes were wide opened. None of them ever watched a track meet, they only heard of Gabriella's speed. But seeing it with their own eyes made a difference.

"Nice, Gabriella!" Coach Bolton said. Then he blew his whistle and yelled, "Get the mile going, boys!" The boys began to jog.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Boys, stop!" The team came to a halt. "Coach! My team is using the track here. We're having tryouts!" Coach Williamson interrupted.

"Williamson, my boys need to be in the best shape possible for this game on Friday. Do you have any idea who we're up against?" Gabriella didn't want to be a part of this so she went back to her group, not noticing that so many of the basketball players were continuing to admire her.

"I could imagine, but I talked to the sports coordinator, and I have the track from two to five today. We're running tryouts all week. Sorry coach, your boys will have to run around the gym."

"TROY! HI!" Amy yelled flailing her arms side to side. She was a hundred meters away from him, and it would be impossible for anyone to reach their voice across an entire football field, but leave it up to a cheerleader to do so perfectly. He gave her a nervous smile, making it obvious that he was both annoyed and embarrassed. "You guys, that's my boyfriend over there!"

"Boyfriend?" another girl asked.

"Mhmm! Well actually, no, but almost! I'm going over to his house today and I think we're going to have sex tonight! We'll be in his room with no one at his house…oh, it'll be so perfect! I already got my lingerie planned out!"

"Hey girls, let's focus here." Gabriella interrupted.

"Of course YOU would get uneasy talking about this, Montez." Amy said annoyed.

"It's not that, I just think that if you want to make the team, we should focus on getting you girls more comfortable with the hurdles. I really think you could be good if you tried, Amy." Gabriella said sincerely.

"GABRIELLA, COME OVER HERE!" Chris yelled. He was on the other side of the track.

"Be right back, please keep working on your leg swings!" Gabriella said before she ran towards the group of boys that Chris was working with.

"Okay, what's that thing that needs to be flexible in order to pull your legs up higher when you hurdle?" Chris asked, placing his thumbs on her hips. He gave her a smile that made her uncomfortable.

"Hip flexors…?" she asked dumbfounded, pushing his hands away from her waist. Every hurdler knew that, but this was just one of his billion ways to be noticed by her. Chris was one of the most handsome guys at East High. He was popular for being so fast and muscular, and not to mention extremely charming. Girls were always drooling over him, but he always had a thing for Gabriella. She never noticed.

"Oh yeah, duh. Thanks Gabi!" After wasting her time, she ran back to where her group was.

"Ohh, so you _do_ know a thing or two about boys!" Amy exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked as she was fixing her leg formation.

"Christopher over there, I completely forgot he's into you!"

"Oh stop spreading rumors, we've been running on the same team since we were five. We're just really close friends."

"Trust me, that's not what I call a friendship." But Gabriella just brushed it off.

After tryouts, Gabriella was packing up her things to leave, when she saw Troy and his dad talking, more like arguing, near the track.

"Hey Gabi!" Chris said running towards her. "So I had something to ask you…" Gabriella looked up, giving him approval to continue. "Well, there's a party this Friday night, and I was wondering if –"

"Gabriella!" Jack said, "I had a question to ask you!" She looked at Chris. "Sorry son, this will only take a second," Mr. Bolton said to him. Chris backed away. "You run the 400, right?" Gabriella nodded. "Well, that would be a perfect event for Troy. When are tryouts?"

"It's tomorrow, but it's the same time as your basketball practice…" she said quietly.

"Perfect! Troy, you and I will play some one-on-one at home tomorrow night, but as for 7th period tomorrow, you'll be here. I need to get going for the dinner tonight. And another thing Gabriella, take him on a run tonight, and if he's a bad sport about it, you let me know. Remember our deal, Troy. Thanks for everything!" Throughout the entire conversation, Troy didn't say a single word. He kept his eyes focused on the ground. She expected some rude comment after his dad left, but he didn't say anything.

"I usually go for my runs after dinner. I don't know if that works for you…" she began to speak softly.

"That's fine. I'll have pizza ordered when you come home," he replied plainly. Gabriella's face lightened up. Even though it was obvious to her that he wasn't happy, she was still excited to hear that she wasn't yelling at him.

"Ahem," Chris coughed. Troy took that as his cue to leave. "So as I was saying, the party at the Evans'. Will you go with me?"

"Chris, you know I don't drink or party..." she said.

"No, I know! We'll just go there together to hang out. You don't even need to stay with me the whole entire time." Gabriella had never really been to these sort of parties before, but she decided to try something new.

"Sounds like a deal. Pick me up at 8?"

"Good plan. See you, Gabs!"

**Bolton's House**

Gabriella walked into the smell pizza and chicken wings. She went upstairs to drop off her bag. Then, she heard Troy singing in the shower. It was a Taylor Swift song.

"That's awkward..." she murmured to herself. Gabriella went downstairs, grabbed a slice of pizza and turned on the television. She was watching a rerun of _House_. Troy walked downstairs in just a pair of basketball shorts. No matter the weather, he always seemed to have his shirt off.

Then, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that might be my mom, but I didn't think she would be home so early," Gabriella said.

"_CRAP!" _Troy whispered. Gabriella was confused. It was just her mother, she assumed. But she remembered her conversation with Amy earlier. She looked out the peephole, and it was her.

"Would you like me to get it?" Gabriella asked. Troy looked around, puzzled, trying to figure out what to do. "Well?"

"No, you can't do that! She doesn't know you live here with me!" Troy was panicking. Gabriella's face fell. She knew that Troy was embarrassed of her.

"Let's just ignore it, no big deal." Gabriella said cooly. Troy didn't say anything, but his phone began to vibrate. It was Amy calling. Then, she texted him, called him again, texted him, and it repeated for a few minutes.

"TROY?" Amy yelled pounding on the door. "WHO'S CAR IS IN YOUR DRIVEWAY?" Troy and Gabriella looked at each other frantically, realizing that her car was parked in his driveway.

"Do you want her to come in, Troy? I don't mind."

"No, I don't want her to come in!" he replied annoyed.

"Then I'll just pray that she'll leave. Don't worry about it," Gabriella said smiling. Troy gave her another one of his weird looks, as if she was some sort of monster. Right then, Amy walked to the side of the house, where a big, uncurtained window revealed the living room.

"TROY? MONTEZ?" she yelled. Troy and Gabriella froze.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's a lot of fluff here, but I'm trying to move along the story to the main events that I want to happen. There's just a lot of introduction that needs to happen, so sorry if I'm boring you guys. I promise it only gets better! Thanks for the reviews, please let me know both the good and the bad :) And Troy will have his ups and downs with his attitude, just bear with it for a little bit. Sorry :p I have the next chapter done, but once I get enough reviews, I can post it today. Thanks everyone :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Troy and Gabriella were stood frozen.

"_Maybe if we don't move, she'll think we're not real," _Troy whispered. Gabriella rolled her eyes at his comment and went to the door to let Amy in.

"Come on in, Amy." Gabriella said. Amy stomped in with a pout.

"I can't believe you're cheating on me!" Amy whined.

"Uh, you and I aren't-" Troy was cut off.

"I mean, I thought things were going great with us! I told all of my friends about you, I put a heart next to your name in my phone, I even told my parents about you! I did everything a girlfriend's supposed to do! How could I have not seen this coming?" she continued to whine in a highly pitched voice. Gabriella was creeped out by her, and from his expression, so was Troy.

"Amy, I'm really sorry if I led you on to thinking that we're together. But I'm seeing a couple other girls as well, and I assumed you all knew that I don't get tied down into relationships."

"And we're," Gabriella said pointing to Troy and herself, "are _not _doing anything inappropriate," Gabriella looked at Troy with a glance that begged him to help her out.

"She lives with my family, her mom couldn't afford the house they were living in so we took them in," Troy sighed. He felt more relaxed after he told her the truth. So what if people would make fun of him? Gabriella wasn't the ugliest girl in the school. Sure, it would ruin his bad-boy image, but he couldn't stand to hear another second of Amy's complaints. "They moved in yesterday, and they're staying here temporarily until they can find their own house to live in."

"But..wait…huh?" Amy exclaimed.

"I. Am. Not. Dating. Her." He spoke slowly as if he was reading to a toddler. Amy smiled. "But, I'm not your boyfriend." Amy shrugged.

"Fine with me! As long as you're not dating a loser, I really don't mind!" Amy said. Gabriella awkwardly looked down, not knowing what to say. Half of her wanted Troy to defend her, but half of her didn't expect him to.

And of course, he didn't. "Well, I have plans tonight, so…"

"WHAT? We were supposed to have sex tonight!" she yelled at Troy. His eyes widened out of fear.

"Who gave you _that _idea?" he asked. Clearly, he was not aware of Amy's intentions.

"Well…" Amy began to say, "no one." She looked down.

"Look babe, I have a lot of things to do tonight. It's playoff season, and I have track try-outs tomorrow, so tonight's not the best time," Troy said sympathetically.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll make sure to have Sharpay to save us a room Friday night," she winked and she left, closing the door behind her.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who looked really upset, but he didn't say a word to her. Instead, he groaned and went upstairs, once again, leaving Gabriella feeling once again guilty for what had just happened.

Seven o'clock came around, and she already had dinner, so she was ready to go on her run. She remembered that she had to take Troy tonight.

After debating with herself for a few minutes standing in front of his door, she hesitantly knocked three times. He opened the door with a softened look on his face.

"Sorry to bother you. You don't have to come with me, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going on a run right now," she spoke shyly.

"Give me just a second, I'll meet you downstairs," he said, walking back into his room. She was completely shocked by his response. After standing there for a little bit, realizing that he was changing, she went downstairs.

Gabriella grabbed two bottles of water as Troy came downstairs in sweatpants and a sweater.

"The number one rule of running is to stay hydrated throughout the day," she said giving him a bottle of water, "Coach recommends drinking a gallon of water a day, and about half of it before practice. No sodas or juices. Practice gets brutal, and your body can last longer the more water you drink." He drank about half the bottle. "And also, you're going to get warm pretty quickly. A sweater _and_ sweats might be too much. The warmer you are, the harder it is to breathe." Troy noticed that she was wearing shorts and a long sleeve, so he took off his sweater, leaving on a white v-neck.

Gabriella opened the door and began jogging with Troy following behind her. After five minutes, he started running out of breath.

"So where are we running to?" he panted.

"East High," she said calmly. She wasn't tired at all and didn't notice the exhaustion in his breath.

"What? That's so far!" he said, which made him run out of breath even more.

"It's only four miles, you'll live, Mr. Superstar."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm a basketball player, not a professional runner," he said trying to stay with her pace.

"I'm not either," she replied. After 30 minutes of quiet running, they made it to their school's track.

"Why are we here, to do even _more_ running?" Troy nagged.

"Well, if you want to make the team, we need to start on the track. The run here was our warm up and endurance building." Troy looked at her with a puzzled face. She walked to the fence that bordered the track and stretched her legs against it. "Running here was to get your heart beating at an aerobic respiration pace. The 400 is considered a long sprint, which needs both aerobic and anaerobic respiration. That's why the 400 meter is so difficult, so we need both speed and endurance training."

"But you seem to master it pretty easily," he said, following her stretches. This was a different side of Troy for Gabriella. It was a side that seemed like himself.

"Trust me, it's harder than it seems. Why don't you just run a lap and then I'll figure out what you need to fix, I have my timer, so line up at the starting line, and when I say go, run like you would at a race." Troy nodded as he set his foot on the track and positioned himself at the starting line. "On your mark, get set, go,"

He came back in fifty-three seconds. In Gabriella's eyes, there was a lot to fix.

"How..was that.." Troy tried to grasp for air with his hands on his knees.

Gabriella laughed walking towards him. "First of all," she said grabbing his arms, "never bend over after you run. That closes up your lungs." She put his arm up behind his head. "And second, you're missing all of the technique, which is normal. Your time was 53 seconds, meaning each hundred was about….13 seconds, a little more than that." Troy looked at her confused.

"How do you do that in your head?" he asked.

"We learned division in the fourth grade, Troy. Anyways, you started off great, but you slowed down as soon as it got harder to breathe. That's normal for all runners, but the _best _runners don't listen to their body when their mind says they're in pain. Instead, they run even faster to get over the hurt, and that's what _you_ have to do. We need a strategy that works for you."

"Can you cut me some slack? That was the fastest I ever ran a lap!" he snapped back. Gabriella took a step back, as she didn't expect his rudeness to come out again. Troy noticed. "Sorry... I- I'm not used to criticism." He said quietly.

"Troy, I'm not criticizing you, I'm helping you. Okay think of the 400 sprint like this: the first 100, that corner, you go 80- 90 percent of your speed. You can slow down, but not noticeably on the second 100, maybe go about...70 to 75%. But realize that some people won't lose their momentum there. Don't let that scare you, because those people will die out by the last 200. That second curve, start pressing it up to about 85 then go to 90%. Then that last 100, that's the most important part. You go faster than your body will let you go. 200%." Gabriella said as she was smiling. Her passion for running was obvious to Troy.

"You're so serious about this. It's just running…" Troy said.

"Yeah, you're serious about basketball. To me, it's just basketball."

"Yeah, but during a game, when you're holding that ball, and you know that what you do with that ball can make 3000 students happy or mad at you, it gets crazy inside your mind!" Troy said ardently.

"Well, racing is all mental, too! I have a choice to feel excruciating pain or to feel comfortable. Most people who don't run choose comfort, and sometimes, my mind tells in the middle of my race to let myself be comfortable. But the choice I make to feel the pain for a short minute makes the difference." Gabriella said in the same innocent voice she always speaks in. In got quiet as Troy and Gabriella were reminiscing of how much they love their sport. "Well, let's give this a few more tries. I promise you if you do what I just told you, your time's going to improve. Same thing, get ready."

'_80, 70, 90, 200' _Troy thought. He heard the whistle and started off a little slower than before. On the last split of the lap, Gabriella noticed that Troy was running incredibly fast. She clicked the timer as soon as his foot stepped over the finishing line.

"51 seconds!" Gabriella exclaimed. Troy was trying to breathe the way Gabriella had taught him. "Our school's record is 48 for boys, and you just improved your time by two seconds, Troy, which is really hard to do!"

"Thanks," he whispered under his huffing breath. A few minutes went by as he finally caught his breath. Troy suddenly had a change of heart. "Thank you for all of the advice. I hope it's enough for tomorrow,"

"It will be! You're going to do great at tryouts. I'll give Coach a little heads up about you," she said reassuringly.

"Thanks again." Troy said. He paused for a moment. "So, how about a friendly race?" he said with a smile.

"Oh no, Troy. I'm not as warmed up as you, and I did a lot of running today," she said nervously.

"Okay I understand," Troy said, "but one condition." Gabriella tried not to smile. "We have to walk home," he said looking at her with his deep blue eyes. His hair was messy, but in a sexy way, and sweat was dripping down the sides of his neck.

Gabriella became distracted by his appearance, and all she could do was let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, sure. Like I said, I ran a lot today." She told him.

On the way back home, Troy was actually being nice to her. He was cracking jokes, asking her questions, talking about basketball, and all the small talk he was good at. She began to feel more comfortable around him, rather than feeling like she was around a tyrant.

"This doesn't mean we're friends," Troy said. Gabriella looked hurt and embarrassed, "…but I'm not saying we can't be." She looked up and smiled.

"Troy Bolton wants to be friends with me? A loser?" she joked.

"Hey, you don't give yourself enough credit. You'd be surprised what some of the guys say about you in the locker room. And the girls that talk about you are only talking out of jealousy." He looked down at her and gave her one of his golden smiles. She couldn't resist her urge to smile back. "But don't worry, I'm not talking to you because I think you're good looking or anything, well I mean you are, but you're not like, ugly, but you're not my type, and...yeah." he said quickly and nervously.

"Well, thanks... I think. And I really don't care what other people think of me, Troy. I hope you know that."

"Everybody cares a little,"

"Well not me. My life is to live to make it tohHeaven. No one I know, besides people at my church, will help me get to heaven, so what's the point of trying to win people's approval?"

"Life is more than living for a higher power,"

"Not to me," Troy realized that he wouldn't win this conversation.

"Well, why do you pray before you eat? Not praying before a meal doesn't mean you're going to hell,"

"Not necessarily, but I am just so grateful for all of my blessings, including food, so I need to tell him how grateful I am." Troy looked at her, not understanding her point. "For example, your parents are letting my mom and I live in your house. We always tell them thank you. If we didn't, they would still know that we're thankful, but there's something different about telling them." After that, Troy completely understood, and he couldn't think of a better response. As they approached their house, Troy was disappointed. He wanted to keep talking to Gabriella, but he didn't want to make it seem like he was interested in her by talking to her when they were inside their home.

Both of them went upstairs into their own rooms. Gabriella was changing, leaving her in only in a thong and sports bra, when Troy opened the door to her room from the bathroom.

"OH MY GOSH!" she yelled as she looked around for something to cover herself with. Troy stood there, completely mortified and sorry. However, he couldn't help but notice Gabriella's flawless body.

"I-I'm-" and with that, he shut the door. That was unlikely for Troy Bolton. He was never embarrassed around girls. He never stuttered around them either, and this experience was unordinary.

She quickly put on her pajama bottoms and a tank top and opened the door to see Troy with his head down on the sink counter.

"I'm so sorry about that, I didn't think of knocking, and I should have," Troy began.

"It's okay, it happens!" Gabriella understood. "Is everything okay?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you're more than welcome to use the bathroom. Please don't make it pink and frilly, but other than that, it's open to you as well."

"Oh that's okay, Troy, I don't mind-"

"I noticed this morning that you went up and down the stairs at least a dozen times, and I felt so bad, so go for it. I'm usually in the backyard playing basketball in the mornings, and I think you were still asleep then. I don't think our schedules will interfere," he said with another charming grin.

'_Oh so he wasn't running in the morning. That makes sense,'_ she thought.

All Gabriella could say was an earnest thank you. With that, he nodded and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. And for once, Gabriella thought Troy Bolton was a nice guy with good intentions.

* * *

**A/N: So shorter chapter than the other ones. If there are things you didn't like, please let me know. And if there are certain aspects of the story that you do like, please let me know as well! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It definitely made me want to update another chapter today! This will make up for tomorrow, I have a really busy day, so I don't think I'll be able to update until the next day. Love you guys! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The rest of the week went by quickly for both Gabriella and Troy. Neither of them spoke at school or at home. The only time they interacted was when they went on their night runs or at dinner. Their friendship didn't grow, but it didn't get worse either. Troy made the track team, and because of Gabriella's advice, he was expected to be the top male for the 400 meter sprint.

**Friday**

Gabriella didn't have to go to 7th period, so she was leaving at lunch to go home. As she walked closer to her car, she noticed a person standing there, finally recognizing who he was.

"Hey, Gabriella!" Chris said. "So are you excited for tonight?"

"What's tonight?" she asked earnestly. Chris looked at her. "OH! The party! Yeah! I'm not sure if 'excited' is the word for it but…"

"No worries, we'll have fun, Gabs!" he said as he put his arm around her. No boy had ever called her 'Gabs' before, except for him. Chris knew how to make a girl feel special. "So I was wondering if you wanted to grab a bite to eat before the party." He asked.

"I'm sorry, but I usually have family dinners, and they're kind of important to me, so…"

"Oh I understand. It's alright. I'll still pick you up at 8 at your place?" Realizing that Chris didn't know her new living situation, she became nervous.

"Yes! Yeah...uh... yeah, my place. I'll be waiting outside," she nervously responded.

"Cool. See you then," he said with a wink. Then he walked away to his car.

Gabriella had no interest in him, but she liked the idea that he was interested in her. She's only had one boyfriend before- Alec. They were together in two summers ago, but things quickly ended when he moved to Florida. That was the most experience Gabriella had with a boy.

"What was that?" a familiar voice asked behind her. She turned around to see Troy Bolton standing there with one hand in his pocket and the other holding onto the strap of his backpack.

"What was, what?" she retorted.

"_That_. That conversation with my man, Chris. I never knew you two had a thing," Troy smirked.

"Oh, Chris was just being a good friend. We've ran track together since we were little so he's like a brother to me,"

"So a brother is picking you up for a party tonight?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Well, kind of…" she began. "I didn't want to go, but he insisted." Gabriella felt like she was explaining to her father why a boy had just asked her to go to a party with him.

"Hm, interesting…. I'll take note of that," Troy said.

"No please, don't," she pleaded.

"I'll see you at home. I'm leaving right now, too."

"You don't have practice today?"

"There's a game tonight,"

"Okay then," she said as she opened her car door. Troy walked to his car with a weird feeling in his stomach, but he couldn't tell what it was from.

**Bolton House**

Troy walked in to hear music coming from Gabriella's room.

"Taylor Swift… good choice," he said to himself. He looked in his refrigerator but found nothing to eat. He checked the pantry to find random bags of chips. He ran up the stairs and knocked on Gabriella's door.

"Yes?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Hey, so, um, have you had lunch yet?" he asked nervously.

She laughed. "No, Troy. I got here right before you did!"

"Well, are you hungry?" he asked.

"Famished." Gabriella replied.

"Perfect, let's go to Chilis!" he said. He walked away quickly before she would reject him.

"Right now?" she asked. Troy stopped right before he walked into his room.

"Yes, unless you have something better to do?"

"Nope, not at all." She smiled.

"I didn't think so. Meet me at my car, I'll drive," he said as he smiled back at her.

Gabriella quickly turned back into her room to grab her phone and wallet and she went downstairs to Troy's car.

The car ride there wasn't awkward, but it wasn't eventful either. They listened to some music and found out that they both like Taylor Swift.

"Yeah, I heard you singing one of her songs in the shower!" Gabriella said laughing.

"Are you listening to me while I'm in the shower?" he sarcastically asked.

"Hey, I can't help it if the walls are so paper thin!" They were having a good time, laughing at each other and enjoying each other's company- just like friends.

**Chili's Restaurant**

"So what's your favorite food?" Gabriella asked, looking at her menu.

"I love Mexican food. But nothing can top Sushi. What about you? What does Miss Track-Star like to eat?"

"Sushi, without a doubt." Troy put his hand up for a high-five and she clapped his hand with hers.

"Good to know you have good taste in both music and food," he said smiling.

Their meals came, and after more small talk, a group of guys walked in. It was the basketball team, but Troy was too busy eating to notice.

"Troy, I think your friends are here," Gabriella said, putting down her fork.

"Huh?" he looked up to see Chad, Zeke and Jason. "Oh crap!" Troy looked around, trying to see if there was anything to hide behind. Gabriella realized what he was doing and immediately began to feel disappointed.

"We can go…"

"No that's okay-"

"Bolton!" Chad yelled over as he was walking over to him. Troy looked frantic, hoping that they wouldn't make fun of him. "Dude! You didn't tell me that you're coming to lunch here!" he said, not noticing that the girl he was with was Gabriella Montez.

He laughed nervously. "Yeah… it was sort of a last minute thing,"

"Well can we sit with you guys?" Chad asked, already sitting down next to Troy. When he saw who Troy was with, Chad realized that it wasn't a girl he knew.

"Ah-I don't know, Chad,"

Chad gave him a serious look. "Fine. See you tonight, Bolton."

"Of course." Chad got up and left to sit where the rest of his teammates were. Troy looked at Gabriella. "I'm really sorry about that,"

"No, that's okay!" she said with a smile. Gabriella was so understanding in every circumstance. "I understand, you wouldn't want to be seen with me."

"No, it's not that!" He sighed. "It's just, they're really into sticking with their status quo."

"And you're not?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, I am. But not with you. I mean, you're so nice and there's nothing wrong with you, but the guys just haven't had a chance to see that yet,"

"Troy, you'd be surprised. There are a lot of things wrong with me," she said laughing.

"Oh yeah?" he smiled. "Name one thing."

"I… would rather stay home and watch TV than go to the party tonight."

Troy laughed. "That's not something wrong with you. That's just who you are, and that's a really good attribute to carry."

Gabriella grinned. "Well thanks. So I'm assuming you're not going to the party tonight because your game?"

"No, the party starts after the game,"

"What time does the game end?"

"Everyone will probably be out of there by 9,"

"Nine? That's weird, Chris told me he's picking me up at 8…"

"So what is it with you and Chris? He seems to like you, a lot," Troy said, taking his last bite.

"Oh no, we're not like that-"

"Hey, trust me, I know when a guy's into a girl, but you… I'm not so sure if you're interested back? That's what I've been trying to figure out."

"Troy, I already told you before- he's just a brother to me."

"Alright, but let me know if you ever want me to hook it up for you two,"

"Believe me, I don't do relationships."

"So you're lesbian?"

"NO!" she exclaimed. "Gosh, Troy! I meant I'm not good with boys and relationships and that stuff. I'm… afraid of commitment." She looked sad.

"Well why is that?"

"I don't know. Once you give your heart to someone, they have the ability to break it and that frightens me."

"I know what you mean."

"I wouldn't think so, considering you've got a handful of girls you're interested in."

"I'm not _interested_, I'm just… encouraging them. I feel bad when girls throw themselves at me and I don't do anything about it. I mean, that thing with Amy the other day… that freaked me out and I feel terrible for embarrassing her like that!" He seemed to be serious about what he was saying.

"So Mr. Bolton's got a big heart, huh." He pridefully nodded. "Let me tell you from a girl's perspective: It's embarrassing regardless of what you do to them. You making yourself public with a bunch of girls make them seem as if they have no dignity."

"But they don't…" he said laughing.

Gabriella laughed with him. "Well then, that must say a lot about you!"

After more laughing and joking around, they came back home around 3:30. Troy had to leave to warm-up for the game tonight.

"So are you coming to my game?" he asked when they walked inside their house.

"No, I'm not into that sort of thing. Plus, Chris said he's picking me up at eight,"

"Oh okay… well if we win tonight, you better come next Friday!"

"That's a promise I can make," she smiled at him. "So I'll see you at the party tonight?" Gabriella asked as she walked up the stairs.

"Yup! Wait!" Troy said in a loud voice. Gabriella stopped walking up the stairs. "Give me your number, since you know, we're like roommates now. Just for emergencies." He took his phone out.

"555-9283" she said. "Text me so I can have you in my phone 'just for emergencies'" she smiled once again, and then continued to walk up the stairs.

Gabriella went upstairs and called Taylor.

"Hello?" Taylor answered.

"Hey Tay, what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing as usual, why?"

"Do you want to go to Sharpay and Ryan's party tonight? It starts at nine."

"Why are you going to that?"

"Because Chris asked me."

"CHRIS? Gabby, do you know how hot he is? I think he's right up there with Troy Bolton. God, you're living my dream right now!"

"No I'm not. It's not as great as it seems, but I just don't want to be stuck with him all night, so please come?"

"I'll bring Kelsi. See you tonight Gabby" Taylor said.

"Thanks, you're the best! Bye." Gabriella hung up. "Now what should I wear…" she said to herself. She pulled out a black, skintight minidress to wear for the night.

**Basketball Game (Game 1 of Play-off season)**

The score was 80-83 with the North High Bears in the lead. There was only thirty seconds remaining when Coach Bolton called for a time-out.

"Alright boys, we're right there. We've got four-hundred students in this gym tonight, and we want to have our school proud. Live up to the reputation we've built for so long to make it to the semi-finals next week. All we need to do is run two perfect plays and play some hard defense, understood?" Then he gave Chad a nod to lead the team's chant. Their thirty seconds of time-out was over and they went back into the game.

First three-pointer, Jason cleared easily. Now, it was 83-83. The last five seconds, Zeke handed Troy the ball. He remembered the deal he made with Gabriella, which motivated him to run up the middle to dunk it. The ball banked right into the net and the buzzer went off. Everyone on the home side went crazy as the team lifted Troy on their shoulders, giving him the praise for their victory. After a while, he realized why he had been happier than ever before- Gabriella would watch him play in their next game.

**Bolton House**

It was 7:58 p.m. Gabriella had make-up on and her hair straightened. She never got ready like this unless she went on a date, and even though she didn't consider it a date, she still wanted to look her best. She grabbed her purse and walked over to her old house. She didn't want to make Troy's reputation worse, so she waited on the driveway next to where she lived.

Chris pulled up in a shiny white Nissan 350Z. He got out of his car, greeted Gabriella with a kiss on the cheek and opened the passenger door for her.

"So, where are we going? The party doesn't start until later," Gabriella said as he drove away.

"Oh I know, I'm in charge of the party favors tonight so I have to make a few quick stops," Chris said with a suspicious smile.

"What are party favors?" she asked nervously.

"All the good stuff that makes the party amazing,"

"Sorry for sounding stupid, but are you talking about alcohol?" Gabriella asked worried.

"Yeah… and some other stuff,"

"Like what…?"

"Some weed and ecstasy, it's no big deal so don't get worried!"

" 'Don't get worried'? Not only is drinking illegal but so is E and marijuana!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Take me home."

"Gabs! It doesn't mean I'm making you take it!"

"I know but, still. Chris, that stuff messes with your health. With the pressure you're under, I just don't think that's necessarily what you need right now…"

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself! I'll be fine this season." He said angrily as he pulled up to an empty parking garage. There was a group of five guys in the corner. Gabriella assumed that was where they were going to. She couldn't believe this was happening.

**Evans' House**

It was around midnight when the party was at its peak. The basketball team was surrounded by the sluts of East High; couples took up each corner of the house, making out like there was no tomorrow; one hundred teenagers were drunk or high- some even both.

Troy was wasted as hell, acting like the cool guy that he is, and Gabriella was sitting on a chair, sipping on her water as she watched Chris looking around for her. She saw Troy in the corner making out with a girl that wasn't Paige or Amy.

"Hey pretty girl, what's your name?" a stranger asked Gabriella. Clearly, he was drunk, or on some sort of drugs.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Jordan, and I have to ask- why is a beautiful girl like you sitting by herself?" he asked sitting in the chair next to her.

"I don't know I just-"

"Gabriella, there you are!" Chris said.

"Yeah… here I am," she mumbled. "I gotta go, it was nice to meet you, Jordan."

"You too-"

"Gabriella!" she yelled over the loud music as she was dragged away by Chris. Jordan smiled, letting her know that he heard her.

"Where have you been?" Chris asked, pulling her away to a crowded hallway.

"I was just sitting there. Sorry, I needed some air to breathe."

"No that's alright. Is everything okay?" he asked sincerely.

"I'm okay. Go back to your fun! I need a little more air and I'll meet you soon."

"Alright, Gabi." He kissed her forehead and went back into the living room. She went outside to grab fresh air when she noticed that it was raining. She heard stumbling footsteps as she turned around to see who it was.

"Troy? Are you alright?" she asked, walking over to him.

"Who are youuu?" Troy slurred. He was too intoxicated to speak properly.

"Troy, it's Gabriella!" she said as he fell onto the driveway. The rain was beginning to soak up their clothes and hair.

"Ohhhh, that nerdy girl that lives with me nowww?" he managed to say.

"Come on, I'll drive you home." She tried to pick him up.

"Nanano, I have my own car, I'm driving home!" he yelled like a little boy. "You're a stranger, I don't even know you!"

"I'm Gabriella! I live with you! I'm that nerdy girl who makes you run with her every day!"

"OH! I know whoo you areee! Uhhh you know, I gotta admit yur freaking hot for a weirdo. And yur not even weird! I think yur so sexy, but I act like I dun like you cuz I dun wanna give you attention jusss yet." He was clearly out of his mind. Gabriella reached in his pockets to find his keys. "Oh so you wanna do that? Alrightttt!" He said as he grabbed Gabriella's head and pulled it into his. He gave her a sloppy, drunk kiss. He fell over, pulling Gabriella down with him. She quickly got up and wiped the taste of liquor off her mouth.

"THAT'S DISGUSTING TROY! We're getting you out of here!" She hastily grabbed his keys and dragged him to his car. She didn't even know where she was, but she was just trying to get out of wherever she was as fast as she could.

After ten minutes of driving and listening to Troy moan and groan about how much his head hurts, she arrived at a hole-in-the-wall burger joint. She chose that one because it had a sign that said that it was open 24 hours.

Troy began to regain his conscience after five glasses of water, throwing up in the bathroom twice and a hot cup of coffee.

"So where am I again?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"Cousin's Burgers." Gabriella answered, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Why?" he stared at her with his deep blue eyes.

"Because I don't know where we are or how to get home," she answered looking at her drink.

"What time is it?" Gabriella looked at her phone.

"12:56. We should call your parents..."

"It's fine, my parents are probably asleep already." Gabriella just gave him a soft smile. "Hey, did I say anything embarrassing earlier?" he asked.

"_Just a little."_she thought. "Nope." She seemed bothered. She avoided eye-contact with him.

"Okay, just making sure. I mean, I don't really drink for liquid courage. I can just tell anyone how I feel drunk or sober, so I'm glad I'm still like that." He stared down at his hands.

"Yup, you're still like that." She said. Gabriella couldn't shake off what had happened between them. Why did he kiss her? Why did _Troy _Bolton of all people tell her she was pretty? And liquid courage? Did that mean he wanted to tell her what he told her all along or was it just a lie? Drunk people lie, right? "A drunken mind speak sober thoughts," she whispered.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Oh nothing. We should head home now that you're all good. I need help with directions, and no, you're not driving."

* * *

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I didn't realize how busy my next few days would be. And I'm really busy for the rest of this week also, but I always continue writing, so bear with me if I take a little longer! This chapter didn't really come out the way I wanted it to, but I didnt want to keep you guys waiting longer so I'm just posting it now. Thank you for all of those who reviewed, I love you guys. I'll update as soon as I can, thank you for being so patient!**


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